SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A local mother has a warning after she says her 15-year-old son fought off a kidnapping attempt in front of a school in San Diego.
Just before 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, surveillance video shows a teen skateboarding south along Thermal Avenue in the Nestor area. The Mar Vista High student was headed home from a school event.
Soon after he's seen in the video, his mother, Jenny, who asked us not to show her face, says her son would be targeted.
“He was scared. He was terrified,” said Jenny.
She says right before Fern Avenue, and in front of a middle school, Mar Vista Academy, her son was caught by surprise.
“A white van pulls up on the side of him, from behind," said Jenny.
She says, according to her son, the van's sliding door opened, and a man in a black ski mask jumped out and grabbed her son’s arm, trying to throw him into the van.
“Yelled, ‘Get the **** in the van.’ My son resisted. There was a bit of a struggle. He eventually fell to the ground. We believe the man got scared. It didn’t work out for him,” said Jenny.
Jenny says the man got back into the van, which took off, headed south of Thermal.
As her son ran home, he called his parents and described the ordeal.
They called 911. Officers later canvassed the area for clues.
In surveillance video from a home near the intersection of Thermal Avenue and Fern Avenue, some 40 seconds after the teen is seen, a white van is seen driving south in his direction.
Police have not said if this van is the van in question.
Meanwhile, the teen's family members are grateful for his safety but remain shaken.
“He did great. We’re proud of him,” said Jenny. “Only God knows what their intentions were. I can only imagine, and I don't want to imagine.”
Jenny is sharing her son's story in hopes of spreading awareness.
“My message is there are monsters out there. They don’t discriminate in terms of age, gender, or if it’s in a school area. We have to be alert, aware,” said Jenny.
Jenny says they'll be taking more precautions, including driving her son to school activities.
Police describe the van as an older model, commercial van. The suspect was wearing a black ski mask, a black shirt, and black pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call San Diego Police at 619-531-2000 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
